The present invention relates to a solid-state roller (with no moving parts) on a pointing device, such as a computer mouse.
A number of computer mice include a roller or wheel which can be rotated by a user's finger. Typically, such a roller is used for scrolling. One example is set forth in Logitech U.S. Pat. No. 6,157,369, and other examples are described in the background section of that patent. Some of the disadvantages of a roller are that it is a mechanical element, and thus subject to mechanical failure since it is susceptible to dirt and shock. In addition, its size can make it difficult to integrate into some form factors such as a very low profile mouse.
Other patents describing a roller or wheel include U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,530,455 and 5,473,344. U.S. Pat. No. 5,530,455 also describes determining the speed of scrolling in the mouse driver software, and switching between line scrolling and page scrolling depending on the speed.
Some earlier designs have proposed a touchpad on a mouse. U.S. Pat. No. 5,805,144 shows a touchpad with pressure sensing. The touchpad allows for sensing in only one direction, and also provides tactile feedback. Touchpads on a mouse are also shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,771,038 and PCT Publication WO91/04526.
Another patent, U.S. Pat. No. 5,555,894, shows depressions for keys and the use of pressure sensors for detecting the bending of the fingers by using multiple sensors on a key to detect finger movement.